1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of immobilizing a biochemically active substance and, more particularly, to a method of immobilizing a biochemically active substance using an immobilizing agent derived from a naturally occurring material.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Substances useful in the medicine, food, and chemical industries have recently been produced using biochemically active substances such as enzymes and microorganisms.
Many studies have been recently made in an attempt to increase production yield of such useful substances by using enzymes or microorganisms immobilized on carriers. Production of useful substances using immobilized enzymes include optical resolution a of DL-amino acid with aminoacylase, production of isomerized sugar with glucose isomerase, production of L-malic acid with fumarase, and production of low-lactose milk with .beta.-galactosidase. For production of useful substances using immobilized microorganisms, studies are being made on the production of ethanol with an alcohol yeast, production of acetic acid with a strain of genus Acetobacter, production of lactic acid with a strain of genus Lactobacillus, and production of n-butanol and isopropanol with a strain of genus Clostridium. Examples using immobilized animal/plant cells include production of digoxin with Digitalis lanata and production of anthraquinones with Morinda citrifolio.
Biological species or biochemically active substances such as enzymes or microorganisms or cells are immobilized on carriers through adsorption, bonding, cross-linking, or gel enclosure. Examples of carriers include polyacrylamide, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl chloride, ion exchangers, magnetic bodies, semipermeable membranes, cellulose, agar, collagen, alginates, gelatin, and carrageenan.
The conventional immobilizing methods do, however, have various inherent problems. Such problems include a hygienic problem induced by mixing in of a trace amount of a monomer in a sample, removal of a biological species by insufficient adsorption, or deactivation or death of the biological species on heat treatment. Thus, these conventional methods cannot provide satisfactory results.